You Bring Me Back to Life
by LABM
Summary: Draco and Hermione. He saved her, in more ways than one. ONESHOT


AN: Okay, so this is my second DMHG fic, and I'm still kinds getting used to it. Not that nice yet. So background information: Hermione Granger got kidnapped by death Eaters, and Draco, Ron and Harry aren't enemies here. Draco's part of the Order, so they're kinda like friends here. And Draco and Hermione are both heads, so they have a shared dorm.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

You Bring Me Back to Life

Draco and Hermione were running across the dark forest. They were both tired and hungry and Hermione was close to tears. They have been running for nearly an hour, just running, and running, and, well, running.

Hermione couldn't do it anymore. Her legs gave in, and Draco had to stop and turn around. He sighed, "Granger, c'mon. We're almost there. Don't faint on me now." Hermione looked up with empty eyes and an empty expression. "I'm tired," was all she said. Draco sighed again and carried her on his back. He then mumbled "Granger, you are going to pay me back big time."

By the time they reached Hogwarts, Draco felt like he was about to collapse. He could hardly feel his legs, but he remembered the person on his back and headed to the hospital wing. Once there, he set her gently down on a bed and told Madam Pomfrey about what happened. Madam Pomfrey immediately set to work and told Draco to get himself cleaned up and rest. "Draco, you did a great job bringing her back. You look like you're about to faint soon. Why don't you go clean up and rest? You can meet the headmaster tomorrow." Draco shook his head and said "this can wait. I need to speak to Dumbledore now." And with that, he headed for the door.

He was about to open the door when Harry Potter and Ron Weasley came in. Both were shocked to see him there, but soon recovered at the realization. "You brought her back?" Harry said. Draco nodded and Ron rushed to Hermione. "Thanks mate. We owe you loads." Draco nodded again, and then turned to Harry. "Is Dumbledore in his office?" Harry nodded and said, "I'll come with you. I want to hear the story." Ron got up. "I'll come too. I want to know what happened," So all three boys headed up to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was surprised to hear a knock on his door this late at night, but called for them to open the door. He was shocked that Draco Malfoy was standing before him, and immediately flooed Professors McGonagall and Snape. The then told the boys to sit down. He offered water to Draco, who looked very pale. Paler than usual, I mean. The two professors barged into the office and were startled to see Draco. "So is she-"

"Yes." Draco cut in.

"What happened?"

"That is what we are all here for, Severus. Now take a seat so the boy can tell us his story before he collapses." Draco nodded, and started talking.

"I was looking for her, just like all of you were; it was around 12:00 midnight when you called off the search party. I was about to go back to Hogwarts when I heard laughing. It sounded so familiar, like I've heard it before. I also heard voices, so I followed them. I was on the other side of the dark forest, quite far from the school, since we've covered the rest of the forest in the past 4 days she was gone. So anyway, I followed the voices and I finally found their camp. There were only a few of them, maybe 15 or so, and my aunt Bellatrix was the first person I saw. Her laughter was the one I heard. So I knew the Granger was there too, because she was their most important captive, and the dark Lord would want her to be in "safe" hands. There were a few tents, so I didn't know which tent she was in, until my aunt entered one and I saw light spells and screams coming from the tent. Granger's screams." At this, he closed his eyes tight and his hands were gripping the chair so tight his knuckles were tuning white. "She was torturing her into getting information on the whereabouts of the Order. Granger just kept on saying she didn't know, and I knew I had to get her out of there immediately, because she could have been tortured into insanity. Like the Longbottoms. So I couldn't call you, because that would take too long.

"After about 15 minutes, she finally stopped and they gathered around in a circle around a fire and did some sort of ritual or something. I didn't get to watch it, because I snuck into the tent and grabbed Granger. It was just my luck that they were all so concentrated in what they were doing and they were too ignorant to put up wards around the tent. So I grabbed her, and she realized who it was, so we made it out of the camp. I couldn't apparate us because she was too weak, so we had to run. We were running for an hour until she gave in and I had to carry her here. She seemed okay, but I'm not too sure. No one followed us."

Dumbledore seemed satisfied with Draco's answer. "Thank you, mister Malfoy, for bringing Miss Granger back. Now that we know what they are trying to do, we need to set up our defenses and hide. I will contact Remus Lupin to train Misters Potter and Weasley. Mister Malfoy, you shall continue your work with professor Snape. For now, we must all go to bed; we have a long day tomorrow. I shall be visiting Miss Granger tomorrow also, to check if she has any problems." At this, all three boys visibly gulped. "Again, Mister Malfoy, thank you. You did a great job. Off to bed now, all of you. I will meet you first thing in the morning. Good night." And with that, all three boys left Dumbledore's office. Outside his office, Ron and Harry turned to Draco.

"Thanks, Malfoy. You saved Hermione the second time now. Remember the flying bludger?" Ron asked. "Yeah, I remember that. And, don't mention it. I wanted her back here just as much as you did." Harry and Ron's eyebrows rose at this. "What?" Draco asked, confused at their expressions. Both boys shook their heads. "Nothing. We'll see you around, Malfoy." And with that, they went on their ways.

The next day, Draco met with Dumbledore and the rest of the Order. They talked about their plans and training schedule, but the meeting did not last long because Dumbledore had to leave. Draco headed to the hospital wing to check on Hermione. When he got there, Hermione was wide awake and sitting up.

"Hi." Draco started.

"Hey. Thanks." she replied, still with that empty expression and a monotone.

Draco got worried. "Are you okay?"

Hermione looked at him with a shocked expression. "Am I okay? _Am I okay? _Are you honestly asking me that question? What does it look like, Malfoy? I am not okay, _okay?_"

Draco got irritated. "Merlin, chill Granger, I was just asking. You didn't need to get mad."

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

"What does it look like? I just wanted to see if you were okay." He said, with a roll of his eyes.

"You? Wanting to see if _I'm_ okay?" She laughed. "Is _the_ Draco Malfoy asking if poor mudblood Granger is okay? Why do you even care?" at this, Draco got really mad. "I don't know what the _hell _happened to you, but I swear you're going insane. What's the problem with me asking if you're okay? And I don't know if you realized that me joining the Order actually means that I've changed. I don't believe in that mudblood crap anymore, okay? I was just checking if you were alright, but it seems you don't need my company." And with that, Draco stormed out of the hospital wing, leaving Hermione alone with her guilt and embarrassment.

Hermione was permitted to leave the Hospital wing that day. She was talking to Harry and Ron about what happened that morning. "You should apologize, Hermione. He just wanted to know if you were alright. He _was _the one who saved you." Harry said. "But we need to go now, we have training with Lupin and Moody. You'll probably be seeing us less these days, you know, with the training and all. What are you going to do?"

"Dumbledore told me to rest first. And do research." She replied.

"Okay, then. We have to go now, see you around, I guess." Ron said, as both boys left the room. Hermione felt so alone at the moment. Harry and Ron were gone, all her classmates were enjoying their Christmas holidays (Dumbledore told the rest of the Order to stay in Hogwarts), and the library was already closed. She then decided to seek out the one person she was avoiding all day.

She finally found him in the Astronomy tower. The stars were shining beautifully above them, and the light coming from the moon shone down on his sad form so beautifully, it made him look like some fallen angel. She cleared her throat, but he didn't move. She slowly moved towards him, leaning on the rails beside him. They both stood in silence, until she spoke up. "I'm sorry." He nodded. "I was just so sad awhile ago. Bellatrix's voice was still in my head." He nodded one again. "I'm sorry too." He said.

"For what?"

"For not being able to get you sooner. I should have known my Aunt was going to be there. I should have gotten to you sooner."

"Well, I'm alive, aren't I? That must at least count for something, right?" she asked, with a small smile. She never thought that Draco was one to blame himself for things.

Draco, meanwhile, shook his head. "You're breathing, and your heart's beating, but that doesn't mean you're alive. You'll be having nightmares and you won't be able to fight for a while. Can you even think straight?" Her smile faded, and she looked up at the stars. "Yeah, I will be having nightmares about those five nights. Five worst nights of my life. She was putting things in my head, visions of what she will do to me if I didn't tell her anything. Sometimes, I thought I was dead, because a person shouldn't experience that amount of pain I felt. Sometimes, I don't see anything for a while, and then I see a white light. I'd like to think that was Heaven."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, you saved me anyway."

He nodded again, and both stood there for a long time, just simply looking up at the stars, both deep in thought. It was an hour later when both decided to head back to their rooms, and neither said goodnight to the other.

The next night, Hermione couldn't sleep. She was having nightmares again, and she decided that sleep would not do any good for her. She decided to head to the astronomy tower instead. She was surprised to see him there again, leaning against the railing like the night before. He turned around at the sound of footsteps, and was also surprised to find her there. "Couldn't sleep. Nightmares." She explained. He nodded in understanding. She moved closer to the railings and he saw tear streaks falling down her face. "It's just really hard, I couldn't get the thoughts off my mind. When will it all end, after the war? How long would it take for me to get back to normal, Years?" he looked at her sadly, imagining the things she has gone through. "Tell me your dreams. Everything she did to you." And with that, she told him what happened, from the first night until the night he saved her. She told him what Bellatrix said, what they did. It was three hours when she finished, and both felt tired and sleepy. They then decided it was time to head back down to their rooms, and again, neither said goodnight to the other.

The next night was just the same. She went up to the astronomy tower, and he was there. She told him about her nightmares, and he just stood and listened. Both went down to their rooms, and neither said goodnight to the other. Night after night, they were like this. At first, she only talked about her dreams, but as time changed, so did their conversations. They started talking about school, about their thoughts on certain matters, and their personal lives. They would argue on their stand on matters, and both found it enjoyable, because the other could match the other's wit, and they argued intellectually. Even when the rest of the school came back from the holidays, both still met in the Astronomy tower.

Soon, Hermione realized that she was having fewer nightmares. She would be too tired to dream when she went back to bed, and she slept in a deep, peaceful slumber. Draco opened up to Hermione his childhood, how he was raised, and why he turned his back from the dark side. "My father told me that we were the highest people on Earth that no one even deserved to touch us, but that was coming from the man who cowers in fear and gets on his hands and knees to serve someone who is not even a pureblood."

However, they avoided the subject as much as they could because that only brought Hermione back to her memories. She still had nightmares, but it only happened seldom. Sometimes, she would lie awake in bed before sleeping, replaying the night's conversations. Sometimes, she cried in front of him when she remembered painful memories, and he would always lend her a handkerchief for her tears. They never held each other, never hugged, or held hands. They would just sit side by side against the wall, or by the railing.

Both were comfortable around each other. Draco got to take his indifferent mask off and just be himself when he was alone with Hermione in the Astronomy tower. Hermione could cry without feeling self-conscious in front if him. They became themselves, and they had nothing to hide. They did not call each other friends, for neither knew if they _were_ actually friends. The word friend was too vague a word for them to use around each other. They still called each other by their last names, and when during class hours, they hardly minded each other.

One night was unlike the other nights. They were talking, as usual, but then when Draco asked a question, no reply came. At first, he thought she was just thinking about her answer, but then he found out that she was actually asleep. He thought of just waking her up and heading back to his room, but found that he couldn't. She was so peaceful and he didn't want to wake her up anymore. Instead, he carried her back to their dorm room. He set her down on her bed, looked at her sleeping form for a while, then headed to his room.

The next day, Hermione found herself on her bed. She did not remember going back down to her room, and figured that Draco must have carried her back down. It was a Saturday, so she stayed in bed later than usual. She thought about where she and Draco stood, how far they've gone into learning about each other. She realized that she had not been having any nightmares for a while, and instead was thinking more about Draco.

That night, she decided to tell him her feelings. They were both lying in the ground so that they could get a better view of the stars. It was unusually bright tonight, and the stars were beautiful.

"Draco."

"Hmmm?" he said, looking at her.

She sat up and faced him. He too sat up, and looked at her questioningly.

She didn't say anything for a while, and he nudged her arm. "What is it?"

"You were wrong you know, that night, the first night we met, when you said that I wasn't alive. Because if I weren't, then I wouldn't be having these feelings for you right now. I feel most alive than I have ever felt before."

He just stared at her for a long time, until he suddenly stood up and extended a hand. Surprised, Hermione took it and he helped her up. When she was already standing, he still did not let go of her hand, and instead, pulled her closer. And kissed her.

He broke away from the kiss, but leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you."

She smiled and said,

"I love you."

You bring me back to life.


End file.
